*A/N* Hey, another new story (again! I will stick with it [hopefully!]). The pronunciation for Iraella’s name is I-ri-ella, Baeddan’s is Bay-dun, and Eamon is A-mun.

Grass tickled Iraella’s bare toes as she pranced with the grace of a deer through the dappled sunlight. She laughed joyfully, her beautiful blonde waves of hair bouncing out behind her. She passed the grassy area and moved on to the pokey sticks, now reaching the creek. Iraella looked back and saw that Baeddan wasn’t far behind. Still beaming, she focused back on her destination. “Hurry up!” the girl shouted to her friend as she halted at the base of the shallow creek.
The handsome boy, Baeddan, reached her after some effort, breathing heavily. Iraella, not even the slightest bit winded, set her hands on her hips and laughed. “Goodness, Bae. It wasn’t that far,” she said.
Baeddan, now lying in the dirt, gave a winded chuckle. “I’m glad no one saw that,” he said, smiling up at her bright, tanned face. Iraella smiled radiantly again before lying down beside him and listening to the gentle rushing of the creek.
“You’re going to ruin that new dress of yours,” Baeddan said quietly. “What good is a dress without a little earth on it?” Iraella replied, closing her eyes and sighing. She loved the sound of the birds twittering and the water rushing, and even Baeddan’s now calm breathing beside her. It was all so beautiful. The two playmates lied there for quite some time before Iraella’s father called from the yard.
“Iraella! Baeddan! Time to come in!” he shouted, though his voice was faint.
Baeddan was the first to reluctantly rise. “Come on, Ira,” he said, calling her by her nickname. He held out a muscular arm when Iraella opened her eyes.
“I wish we could stay here,” Iraella said almost sadly, taking Baeddan’s arm and letting him pull up her small, light body.
The farm boy smiled faintly. “We’ll come back tomorrow,” he assured her. Iraella gave a small but somehow radiant smile back and they began to walk back onto the trail.
Within around fifteen minutes they met Eamon, Iraella’s father, at the base of the trail. “The sun’s starting to set, you know I don’t like you two out that late,” Eamon said gently, laying a large, rough hand on Iraella’s bare shoulder.
“My apologies, sir. It won’t happen again,” Baeddan said politely, concealing a smile when Iraella shot him one of her signature “looks.” Eamon gave him a crooked smile with missing teeth. “You’d better be getting home now, I’m sure Miss Calida is getting ready to have a heart attack,” he told Baeddan.
Baeddan nodded and bade Iraella and her father farewell. “Tomorrow, Bae! Don’t forget it!” Iraella shouted after him as he jogged away, heading back to his cottage. Baeddan turned his head around and gave her a thumbs up to show that he heard her. Iraella gave a sure nod and walked with her father back to the farm house, which did not appeal to her nearly as much as lying with Baeddan beside the creek.
“Your mother made chicken broth,” Eamon said as they walked slowly, nearly awkwardly to the house.
“Mmmm,” Iraella mumbled, bobbing her head up and down slowly and twirling one of her dirty blonde waves around her finger. She wasn’t especially fond of chicken broth. It always reminded her that this was one of the chickens she fed and watered every day.
“Everything alright, Iraella?” Eamon asked her, opening the door and allowing her in. Iraella looked at him and nodded.
Eamon grunted and let himself in.

That night, Iraella heard rocks panging her window. She shot up out of bed, her heart racing, to look into her window. Surprisingly, she saw Baeddan’s silhouette waving at her. Iraella opened her window and called down softly, “What are you doing?”
“I have something to show you!” Baeddan called back. Iraella looked at him uncertainly, and then clambered out of her window. Barefoot and in her nightgown, she landed nimbly on the sticks and leaves and walked up closer to Baeddan. “So what is it?” she asked, rather cold in the night air.
“Come on, you’ll see,” said Baeddan. Iraella could see his grin even in the darkness. Baeddan started running, and now it was Iraella who was behind in the yard. The two leaped onto the trail, running faster than before. Iraella wondered what was so important and exciting to wake her up in the middle of the night.
Iraella looked above her. The moon was full, shining a beautiful white light down on the trees. When there would be a gap, you could see the dust floating around, as if fairies had come for a visit. Finally, Baeddan and Iraella were at the creek. “Here we are,” Baeddan said, opening his arm out to the side dramatically. And what Iraella saw took her breath away.